Noranda Goes Bankrupt; Closes 3rd Pot Line

Noranda Aluminum announces today they are filling for chapter 11 bankruptcy and will shut down their third remaining pot line in New Madrid, Mo.

KAIT-TV reports company officials said they will continue work on the 3rd primary pot line until March 2016, then operations will be reduced. Noranda said work could restart if business conditions improve.

In early January, an electrical circuit failure caused two of the 3 pot lines to become idle. Afterwards, Noranda announced they would lay off around 480 employees at the New Madrid smelter by February 4th.

At the same time, Noranda also announced they would voluntarily file for bankruptcy.

Noranda President and CEO Kip Smith said in a statement the company believes the court-supervised process will give them the “time and financial flexibility to evaluate options to enhance the sustainability” of their business operations.

During the process, Noranda said they will be supported with new financing and cash generated from ongoing operations.

Company officials said they expect to receive approval from the court on their bankruptcy requests soon.

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An aluminum plant in New Madrid will lay off between 125 and 200 jobs over the next six months.

Noranda Aluminum CEO Kip Smith said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon that he is disappointed in the Public Service Commission's decision not to lower power rates.

"Like every other smelter, a third of our cost is electricity," Smith said. "Given the increases in our power rate we've ended up in a situation where we have an unaffordable and uncompetitive power rate." Governor Jay Nixon released this statement on Tuesday about the layoffs: